Marion Rombauer Becker was born in 1903. Besides her work on the JOY of Cooking, Marion realized other significant accomplishments during her lifetime. She worked as an art teacher and later at Women's Wear Daily. She was one of the founders of Cincinnati's Modern Art Society, and served as it's first professional director. Marion was an early advocate of natural gardening and received the "Oak Leaf" award from the Nature Conservancy. Marion was also the recipient of the Medal of Merit from the Garden Club of America. Marion died in 1976.